05/03/2024 - With the exception of the festival’s main prize, Mladen Đorđević’s Working Class Goes to Hell bagged the larger share of the individual awards

The 52nd edition of the Belgrade International Film Festival FEST took place between 23 February and 3 March in seven different locations (and via ten different screens) across the Serbian capital. The event also hosted the second edition of the FEST Pro industry gathering, drawing to a close with an awards ceremony held on Sunday, followed by a screening of Russian Consul, the latest film directed by national filmmaker Miroslav Lekić. Meanwhile, the “encore” PostFESTum programme is set to screen the selected FEST films to local audiences over a further four-day period.

The main competition jury, consisting of Serbian actors Radivoje Bukvić (who was also jury president) and Marko Grabež, Slovenian Film Centre director Nataša Bučar, Serbian screenwriter Biljana Maksić and Croatian filmmaker Zrinko Ogresta, awarded the top prize, the Belgrade Victor for Best Film, to Yury Bykov’s latest opus The Owner [+see also:
film review
film profile]. In their statement, they stressed that this Russian-French-Swiss co-production is a “film devoid of naturalism, a highly suggestive and compelling piece that takes us into a world where one man can privatise an entire community’s life and become its master of life and death, controlling its every aspect”. This is Bykov’s second Belgrade Victor, since the filmmaker was also awarded the same prize back in 2015 for his movie The Fool [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Yury Bykov
film profile].

The same jury further named Mladen Đorđević Best Director for Working Class Goes to Hell [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mladen Djordjević
film profile], with this title scooping another two critics’ awards: the Nebojša Đukelić Prize for Best Regional Film in the main competition, and the FEDEORA Jury Prize. Vlatka Vorkapić and Slavica Šnur were honoured for their screenwriting efforts on The Holy Family [+see also:
film review
film profile], which also scooped the Audience Award for Best European Film, supported by the EU Delegation in Serbia. Ivana Vuković and Saleh Bakri took home trophies for Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively, for their roles in The Teacher [+see also:
film review
film profile] and Enough for Now, with the latter film also nabbing the Milutin Čolić Award put forth by the Belgrade-based daily newspaper Politika.

The official winners list was rounded off by Katalin Moldovai who scooped the award for Best Debut by way of Without Air [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katalin Moldovai
film profile]. Two honorary Belgrade Victors for Best Contribution to World Cinema were also awarded beforehand, to Serbian documentary-maker Želimir Žilnik and Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi.

The full list of awards is as follows:

Belgrade Victor for Best Film
The Owner [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Yury Bykov (Russia/France/Switzerland)

Best Director
Mladen Đorđević – Working Class Goes to Hell [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mladen Djordjević
film profile] (Serbia/Greece/Bulgaria/Montenegro/Croatia)

Best Screenplay
Vlatka Vorkapić, Slavica Šnur – The Holy Family [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Croatia/Serbia)

Best Actress
Ivana Vuković – Enough for Now (Serbia)

Best Actor
Saleh Bakri – The Teacher [+see also:
film review
film profile] (UK/Qatar/Palestine)

Best Debut
Without Air [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katalin Moldovai
film profile] – Katalin Moldovai (Hungary)

Other awards

Nebojša Đukelić Award
Working Class Goes to Hell – Mladen Đorđević

Milutin Čolić Award
Enough for Now [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Marko Đorđević (Serbia)

FEDEORA Award
Working Class Goes to Hell – Mladen Đorđević

Audience Award
The Holy Family – Vlatka Vorkapić

Honorary Belgrade Victors
Želimir Žilnik, Asghar Farhadi